Tuesday, July 31, 2012

THEATRE REVIEW: "Fiddler on the Roof" at Moonlight Stage Productions

Kathy
Brombacher’s swan song staging is a stunning feast for the eyes and ears

By
Donnie Matsuda

David Ellenstein as Tevye (foreground) in "Fiddler on the Roof." Photo by Ken Jacques.

Moonlight Artistic Director Kathy Brombacher
understandably has a special place in her heart for the timeless and tuneful
musical theatre classic, Fiddler on the
Roof.After all, it was the very
first full-scale musical she ever directed as a student at the University of
Redlands (many moons ago), and now, in a full-circle moment that only the
mystical theatre gods can dictate, she once again returns to the venerable
musical as her final show before stepping down as head honcho of the
Vista-based theatre company after 32 years of outstanding leadership.No doubt, it is a very important musical for
her, and this time around, she wants to make sure it is done right, with every
note, every step, and every aspect of the beautiful, intimate Russian village
of Anatevka perfectly in place.

Simply put, her careful attention to detail mostly pays
off here and her current staging of Fiddler
on the Roof – both visually and vocally stunning - is a “grand finale” that
she can be proud of.Working with a
top-notch creative team, which includes veteran Moonlight choreographer Carlos
Mendoza (who borrows judiciously from Jerome Robbins’ original dance sequences)
and veteran Moonlight Musical Director Elan McMahan (who elicits a large and
lush sound from her 11-piece orchestra), Brombacher does what she can to keep
the three hour long musical moving along at a brisk pace while still paying due
homage to the quirky characters and hummable musical numbers we all know and
love.

While her vision for this
production is more muted than any I’ve ever seen, it appears that it is her
intent to strip away the theatrical flourishes and instead focus on the real
characters and the everyday situations at the heart of the piece.Instead of playing up the acerbic Jewish wit
written into the piece, her cast delivers the many punch lines with a
naturalistic tendency that causes the humor in the piece to fall consistently
flat.But despite her watered-down
storytelling, one thing is for sure: Brombacher knows her space well and
manages to create some incredibly stunning and evocative pictures using her
large 39-member cast and a number of rustic set pieces (the compact and cozy
set is rented from Candlelight Pavilion Dinner Theatre and fits well on the sprawling
amphitheatre stage) handsomely lit by Jean-Yves Tessier.

Victoria Strong as Golde and David Ellenstein as Tevye. Photo by Ken Jacques.

Based on a collection of stories by Yiddish author
Sholom Aleichem, the 1964 musical Fiddler
on the Roof combines the talents of three writers – Joseph Stein (book),
Jerry Bock (music), and Sheldon Harnick (lyrics) – and holds the distinction of
being Broadway’s fifteenth longest-running show in history.The original Broadway production was
nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning nine including Best Musical, Best Score,
Best Book, and Best Direction, and spawned four Broadway revivals as well as a
successful 1971 film adaptation.It has
enjoyed enduring international popularity largely thanks to its universal appeal
and it has been performed in more than 15 languages, in over 30 countries.

At the heart of the story is dairyman Tevye, his
wife Golde, and his five daughters who all struggle to keep their traditions
alive and their sanity in check amidst the caustic winds of change that threaten
to tear their family apart.But despite
the ongoing persecution by the Tsarist regime, the imminent threat of
revolution, and the concern that his daughters are falling in love and falling out
of their faith, Tevye manages to maintain grounded as he deals with each new
twist of fate with his characteristic warmth, humor, and humanity.

The "Fiddler on the Roof" Company. Photo by Ken Jacques.

Without a doubt, it takes a whole lot of chutzpah
for any actor to step into the workboots of America’s most iconic Jewish
milkman and David Ellenstein (esteemed Artistic Director of the Solana
Beach-based North Coast REP Theatre) is more than up to the task.While his singing and dancing are a bit rusty
here, he nonetheless manages to captivate the audience with his authentic charm
and his no-nonsense, down-to-earth sensibility.As his wife Golde, Victoria Strong simply shines.She’s a true triple threat, boasts a magnetic
presence on stage, and brings a lighter and more loveable touch to a role
that’s normally played with a nagging edge. Together, Ellenstein and Strong are unusually
laid back (certainly not cut from the same cloth as most Jewish parents) and
frequently at odds with their traditional roles as written in Stein’s banter-filled
book and Harnick’s prickly score.But,
then again, this is a musical about breaking with tradition and forging new
beginnings, right?

Even the girls playing the couple’s eldest three
daughters tend too much toward the vanilla.They are exceptionally strong singers, however, and they are Alexis
Grenier as Tzeitel, Charlene Koepf as Hodel, and Aubrey Elson as Chava.And among their men (intended or otherwise), Timothy
J. Allen is a ball of nervous energy as the mousy, timid tailor Motel, Jason
Webb is charismatic as the young revolutionary Perchik, and Eric Hellmers is
both gentle and graceful as the Russian suitor Fyedka.

The "Fiddler on the Roof" Company. Photo by Ken Jacques.

There are also some fine comic turns by Susan E. V.
Boland as matchmaker Yente, Ralph Johnson as town bookseller Avram, Jamie
Snyder as the butcher Lazar Wolf, and Danny Campbell as the Rabbi. And there is even a children’s cast of eight –
Noah Baird, Will Ellenstein, Hayden Kerzie, Hourie Klijian, Shea Starrs, Skylar
Starrs, Sloane Starrs, and Scarlett Strasberg - who are nicely worked into many
of the group scenes and musical numbers.

All in all, it’s a lot to rein in with a musical of
this magnitude, but Brombacher does an admirable job of making it all come
together as seamlessly as she can.With
her Fiddler, there may be a few
shortcomings to kvetch about and it may not be the most robust revival you’ve
ever seen, but it does boast some strong performances, a number of picture-perfect
moments, and serves as an appropriate “farewell” to one of the most legendary
leaders in the Moonlight Stage family.

Things
to know before you go: Fiddler on the Roof plays at
Moonlight Stage Production’s Amphitheatre through August 11, 2012.Running time is 3 hours with a 15 minute
intermission.Performances are
Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 8pm.Tickets are $15-$50.For more information or to purchase tickets,
call (760) 724-2110 or visit www.moonlightstage.com.

About The Drama King

Dr. Donnie Matsuda recently moved to San Diego from the SF Bay Area. He earned his bachelor's degree in Human Biology from Stanford University, where he founded and served as editor-in-chief of the Stanford Undergraduate Research Journal. He went on to earn an M.D. from Stanford's School of Medicine and he has come to San Diego to start a new life and a new career path.
Donnie's love affair with the theatre began at the age of 8 when he started singing and dancing with Galena Street East Productions. Since then he has played many roles in the Bay Area theatre scene, including choreographer, assistant director, dance captain, tech director, propmaster, arts administrator, and of course, performer. He is enjoying his newest role as theatre critic and is excited to be part of the San Diego theatre community.
Feel free to contact Donnie via e-mail at: doctordonnie1@gmail.com